Active clinical trials for "Parkinson Disease"

This is a observational, multi-center study to assess progression of clinical features, imaging and biologic biomarkers in Parkinson disease (PD) patients compared to healthy controls (HC) and in PD patient subtypes. The primary objective of this study is to identify clinical, imaging and biologic markers of PD progression for use in clinical trials of disease-modifying therapies.

Parkinson's disease (PD), which is generally considered to be a motor disorder, is now known to be accompanied in many instances by a variety of cognitive defects. This can be explained considering that PD is a neurodegenerative and progressive disorder of the basal ganglia system, which works modulating not only motor, but also cognitive and emotional behaviours. Concerning this, some studies suggest that non-demented PD patients may suffer from a voluntary selective visual attention orienting deficit, showing a reduced skill in focusing upon one target, and may be easily distracted from irrelevant but salient stimuli, with a consequent negative impact on their physical health, social interactions and quality of life. Up to now, the evidence of the role of the basal-ganglia system in modulating visual attention functions is poor and indirect and the effects of dopaminergic and subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation (two usual and effective treatments in PD) on attention performances are controversial. The main objectives of the project are: 1) to assess the visual selective attention as well as the distractibility in PD patients; 2) to study the effects of patient's usual antiparkinsonian treatments, that is dopaminergic and STN stimulation, on visual attention performances. Secondly, from a clinical and neurophysiologic point of view, the investigators want to study the respective role of the dopaminergic pathways and the sensorimotor and associative/limbic cortico-basal ganglia loops passing across the STN in the visual attention performances. To precisely answer the objectives of the protocol, the investigators will record the performances of participants during the administration of 3 computerized tests, which are suitable to study visual attention, decision making and motor performances. The investigators will compare the performances on the computerized tests of two groups of PD patients, one evaluated in different sets of electrical (without stimulation, or selective stimulation of the sensorimotor or associative/limbic part of the STN) stimulation, the other in different conditions of medication (with or without dopaminergic treatment) with those of a group of healthy subjects.

About 46% of patients suffering from Parkinson's disease present pain disorders. Parkinson disease is characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between the loss of dopaminergic neurons and the existence of pain in Parkinson's disease. Using single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) imaging (123I FP-CIT, which binds dopamine transporter) and the determination of subjective pain threshold, the investigators will establish correlations between dopaminergic degeneration and pain perception.

The survey is conducted to collect safety and effectiveness information on the use of Pramipexole for long time of period in daily clinical settings in Japan.

To investigate how levodopa and acupuncture affect fatigue and muscle function in people who suffer from Parkinson's disease. Subjects may choose to participate in levodopa or acupuncture part, or both. Study procedures include an exercise protocol, transcranial magnetic stimulation (a non-invasive type of brain stimulation that cause small muscle twitch), a blood draw, and personality surveys.

To eliminate barriers (such as travel and cost) to specialized Parkinson disease (PD) care, two movement disorder specialists at the University of Rochester will be providing telemedicine visits for patients with PD who reside in the Presbyterian Home for Central New York in New Hartford, NY, or for individuals who participate in the local support group that meets at the nursing home. Participants will attend 3 telemedicine visits at the Presbyterian Home over the course of 6 months. We hypothesize that this telemedicine model will in time improve access to care and hence the quality of life and quality of care of individuals with PD.

The purpose of this study is to investigate similarities and differences in the neural pathways of depressed Parkinson's patients, non-depressed Parkinson's patients, and healthy controls using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and neuropsychological assessment.

Post-marketing surveillance (PMS) to investigate the safety and efficacy of long-term daily use of Mirapex®-LA Tablets in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The autonomic or automatic nervous system helps control blood pressure. Diseases of the autonomic nervous system may result in a drop in blood pressure on standing in many cases leading to fainting. Diseases that affect the autonomic nervous system include pure autonomic failure, multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease, and can present with very similar symptoms and it is sometimes difficult to determine an exact diagnosis. The purpose of the study is to find out if the blood pressure response from taking a single dose of the medication atomoxetine can help in the diagnosis of these diseases.

The ultimate goal of this proposal is to reduce dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Dyskinesias are abnormal movements, often caused by the standard treatment for PD symptoms, levodopa. In this study, we will test if biochemical devices are equal to the clinical rating system in measuring dyskinesias.